Challenge 1099
Free Ride
In G. Michael Smith’sThe Rise of the Thinking Pig:
- Where are Viola’s hands and fingers located? Why are they not so noticeable that they become subjects of conversation?
- Is Viola’s construction of a ladder and an overhead roost in a tree plausible? Why is it necessary?
- In a fable, animals act as they do in nature but talk and think like human beings. “The Rise of the Thinking Pig” is obviously not a classic fable in the style of Aesop or LaFontaine; nor is it a modern fable, which would imitate the classic in most ways. What makes it a postmodern fable?
In Jeff Gaba’s On the Spacefront: Might the spacemen’s ploy of substituting a less heavy worker plus contraband for a heavy worker be discovered by accident? Is there any plausible measure they could take to make such a discovery less likely?
In J. S. O’Keefe’s The Queen’s Death and the Silent Couple: Do the “silent couple” eventually say anything inaccurate about the British royal family? Why are their pronouncements offensive?
In Jeffrey Greene’s A Preference for “Green Tea”: Can you add a title or two to the list of favourite ghost or horror stories? Is the addition made for the same reasons as established in the essay, or do you have different preferences?
What is a Bewildering Stories Challenge?
